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Glite Dictionary
peahen

peahen

2 7.7
A female bird of the same kind as a peacock with dull brown or gray feathers
  • noun
  • /ˈpiːˌhɛn/
: pava
  • The most famous (and hackneyed) example is the male peacock's plumage attracting the female peahen.
  • peahens and peacocks

A Peacock is the male, a peahen is a female.

Examples

  • A Peacock is the male, a peahen is a female.

    Late Night with Seth Meyers

  • At the zoo, children were excited to see the peahen with her colorful mate.

  • "You mean something like the way the peacock shows off his feathers to the peahen before they start building a nest?"

    Fiction book (1993)

  • It's to attract the peahens in competition with other peacocks.

    Blog text (11)

  • The two big males, trailing their tail feathers like quilts tied around their necks, were following a bare little peahen.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • In the garden, a beautiful peahen wandered gracefully among the flowers.

  • The wildlife photographer focused on capturing the stunning colors of the peahen.

Surface Forms

peahen singular
peahens plural

Morphology

peahen = peacock + hen (transparent) = pea + hen

The word 'peahen' is a clear compound of 'pea' from 'peacock' and 'hen', indicating the female of the species.

Etymology

Peahen comes from joining peacock and hen, where hen means 'female bird', so it simply names the female peafowl. That's why a peahen is the less colorful brown-gray bird, while the peacock is bright and showy.